The Taliban have implemented a new restriction, forbidding Afghan women from raising their voices in the presence of other women, including reciting the Quran aloud. Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s minister for vice and virtue, stated in an audio message that women should not perform public Quranic recitations, citing concerns over women’s voices being heard, even by other women. He questioned how women could be allowed to sing if even reciting the Takbir, an Islamic phrase meaning “God is greater,” is deemed inappropriate, as reported by Amu TV, a U.S.-based Afghan media outlet.
Hanafi, a high-ranking Taliban leader sanctioned by the United Nations and the European Union, stated that a woman’s voice is considered “awrah” (that which must be covered), implying that it should remain private. This directive aligns with the increasingly restrictive measures the Taliban have imposed since their return to power in August 2021. Afghan women now face conditions reminiscent of the 1990s, when the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan and imposed a complete ban on television and music.
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In the past three years, the Taliban have systematically barred Afghan girls from education past primary school, limited their employment opportunities in governmental and international organizations, and shuttered beauty salons. Women cannot leave their homes without a male guardian, are required to cover their entire bodies and faces, and must wear masks on television if working as news anchors. Reports detail how women are further restricted from singing or speaking publicly, covering themselves even in front of “non-believing” women, and prohibited from interacting with unrelated men. This extensive web of restrictions underscores the Taliban’s comprehensive control over Afghan women’s lives, bodies, and autonomy.
